To date, more than 360,000 Australians have received MHFA training, about 2 per cent of the adult population.

The not-for-profit program has been designed to teach members of the public how to provide initial help to a person developing or experiencing a mental illness.

Four-time University of Canberra graduate, Betty Kitchener, and her husband Professor Tony Jorm came up with the idea while they were walking their cavalier king charles spaniel, named King, in Weetangera in Canberra's north.

Mental Health First Aid action plan

Approach, assess and assist with any crisis

Listen non-judgementally

Give support and information

Encourage appropriate professional help

Encourage other supports

"I had some fairly severe episodes of depression, I was hospitalised in a psychiatric ward for that, I'd been suicidal and I wouldn't be here without my best friend and husband," Ms Kitchener said.

"So when he said 'we need first aid for depression, in fact for all mental health problems' I was a bit taken aback and I thought 'silly me, why didn't I think of that?'.

"But that's exactly what we needed because I knew that many mental health problems are so much more common than physical problems and there's so much more stigma around having a mental health problem.

"People don't know how to talk about it, they don't know where to go for help.

"But I always think if we didn't have our dog, we wouldn't have a MHFA program."

At the time, Ms Kitchener was employed as a trauma research officer at the Canberra Hospital and taught first aid courses for the Australian Red Cross in her spare time.

The idea of first aid has been in the Australian society for quite a long time... our society was really ready for Mental Health First Aid.

MHFA chief executive Betty Kitchener

Her husband was a leading mental health expert in his own right, through his vast research experience.

Now, the program they developed together has revolutionised the ways in which mental health problems are responded to and treated within the community.

"The idea of first aid has been in the Australian society for quite a long time," Ms Kitchener said.

"In some countries it isn't yet, for example in Japan ... their first aid would be to immediately ring the ambulance.

"Whereas we do learn some of the things we can do to prevent that person getting worse or to keep that person stable and safe and prevent further suffering.

"So our society was really ready for MHFA. Why someone didn't think of it before Tony and I did, I don't know."

'A course for everybody: teachers, taxi drivers, hairdressers'

Ms Kitchener said many people were aware of the statistics around mental illness, but did not have the skills to feel they could help.

"You still think 'well, I've got to wait for the professionals, I'll stand back and just look because I don't want to make it worse or maybe I'll catch it'," she said.

"Initially I thought people like high school teachers and police should do the course, but then people would say to me 'and taxi drivers and hairdressers'.

"Of course the answer is it's for everybody. Everyone should do it."

Of all countries, Bermuda actually has by population more mental health first aiders than any other country.

MHFA chief executive Betty Kitchener

In addition to the 360,000 Australians who have taken part in the program, 400,000 people in the United States are now qualified mental health first-aiders.

"Bermuda has trained something like 350,000 people - but that's a huge percentage of their population," Ms Kitchener said.

"So of all countries, Bermuda actually has by population more mental health first aiders than any other country.

"We're now worldwide at about 1.2 million mental health first aiders, so we're predicting now how this is going to rise - when we will hit the two million mark."

Last month Ms Kitchener was awarded the University of Canberra Chancellor's Alumni Award for her work developing MHFA. She is now an Adjunct Professor at Deakin University.

Ms Kitchener has received numerous other awards, including an Order of Australia Medal in 2008 and an Exceptional Contribution to Mental Health Services Award.